PEABODY — A sharp-eared 88-year-old local resident saw right through a telephone prize scam that Angela Pangakis said should serve as a warning to other people her age.
“It was aimed at older people and he really knew how to get to someone,” Pangakis said in describing the man who called her a week ago with a bogus Publishers Clearing House prize notification.
The man on the other end of the line told Pangakis she had won $2.5 million from the iconic shopping, charity and prize distribution firm. The caller went on to tell Pangakis that, in order to collect her prize, she needed to pay a $1,500 “technical” tax.
The 25-year Peabody resident who still drives wasn’t fooled.
“I said, ‘Why can’t you just deduct it from the $2.5 million?'” Pangakis said.
The caller told her prize checks are pre-printed and can’t be altered and urged her to send a cashier’s check for the $1,500 to an address he was ready to provide Pangakis.
She said the man identified himself as “Jonathan Livingston” and unspooled an admittedly-convincing pitch that included asking Pangakis if she preferred to participate in publicity for her “win” or to keep it private and if she appreciated the opportunity to “leave a legacy” for her loved ones.
“He was really soft spoken,” Pangakis said.
Publishers Clearing House has received reports of scammers “using our good name” to con people, said Vice President for Consumer Affairs Chris Irving.
“We take the matter seriously and we are working with law enforcement,”
Irving said.
The prize distributor never requires people to send money.
“That is illegal,” Irving said.
Publishers Clearing House awards 6 or 7 $1million prizes every year following the same script the company made famous in 1967.
“We show up just like on TV with champagne and flowers. We don’t call,” Irving said.
Pangakis reported the telephone scam to Peabody police who are not alone in receiving reports of swindling attempts, including many aimed at seniors.
Lynn police spokesman Lt. Michael Kmiec said scams “are almost constant” and said police urge residents to never provide information to a telephone caller.
Pangakis worries fellow seniors might get taken in by smooth-talking phone predators.
“It’s frightening how many old people, and many young ones, think this is real,” she said.
